26. Grayson
TWENTY-SIX
Grayson
I ’d say that today has been the best family dinner we’ve had in a long time.
I can’t help but think that Avery spending the night has a lot to do with that.
Kade and Gracie have long gone, clearing out before we got to work on cleaning the dishes.
It’s always the same with them, never sticking around when the hard work begins, but as the babies of the family, I don’t think we’d have it any other way.
I follow behind Wyatt as he leads the way to the front door.
Mom and Avery trail behind us, talking in hushed tones.
Normally, I’d drive Mom to her house as it’s only about a mile from the main ranch house and technically still on our land.
It’s a small guest cottage that several generations of parents have lived in when their children have started families of their own and have passed the main house onto them.
“When are you meeting with Mr. Evergreen?” Wyatt asks.
I can tell he’s trying to play it cool. He knows full well that Mr. Hart is going to be at the meeting.
I don’t blame him for not liking the man.
He doesn’t show me any respect, despite the empire I’ve built, and it’s plain as day that Wyatt hates that family.
“Not until Friday. I’m meeting with Tanner on Wednesday to go over the game plan again, and then with Reed to run the numbers. You think you can carve some time out to join us?”
We come to a stop next to his truck, and he turns to look at me with his brows raised and a cheeky smirk on his face. “Well, I’ll be damned, Gray. You finally letting me in?”
Embarrassment and guilt rush through me, but I shake them off. Holding up my hands, I reply, “Don’t get too full of yourself, Wy. I can take the offer back, no problem.”
Pulling open his car door, Wyatt climbs in before shutting it and rolling down his window. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there, big brother.”
I tap the window opening, sincerity coating my words when I say, “I’m glad you will. I should have asked you sooner.”
He rolls his eyes, turning to throw some trash off his passenger seat as Avery opens the door for my mom. When he turns back to me, he winks. “Yeah, you should have. Now save that mushy shit for Ave.”
Wyatt starts the engine, a rock song blasting from the speakers as he closes the window. His past history would say that I shouldn’t give him so much responsibility because he can be a little hot-headed at times, but I know he’s working on doing better, and I’m not going to hold him back anymore.
Hooking my thumb into my jeans pocket, I watch as Avery helps my mom into the passenger seat before coming to stand beside me.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders as we wave my mom and Wyatt off.
We lose the headlights in the dark and dust, and when all that surrounds us is a peaceful Montana night, I steer Avery back toward the house.
She stifles a yawn as we trudge up the front steps.
“Why don’t you go get ready for bed? I’ll switch off everything down here and be up in a minute.” I run my hand up her back as we come to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. “It’s the room at the end of the hall.”
She looks up at me, her eyes slightly glassy but heavy. “Okay, but don’t take too long.”
I watch the gentle sway of her hips as she walks up the stairs.
I’ve never noticed it before, but the house feels too big without her in the room.
This place has hardly ever been empty, not since Gracie moved out a few years ago.
Even though Wyatt and Kade have their own places, they often stay over after a long day.
It’s only now that I realize that this house is too much for one man, and I need Avery here to really make it a home.
The thought digs in before I can shake it.
It’s unsettling in its truth, and the longer I let it sit, the more I want her.
Want the chance to have her here for good.
Of course I know that’s not going to happen, that she’ll be leaving soon, but I can’t help but want a future for us.
With a deep breath, I force myself to finish cleaning up, turning the lights off as I go, every second feeling too long.
I want to make the most of the time that I have with Avery, to savor every second.
When she’s gone, I can wallow on the what-ifs.
For now, I’ll ignore the ache in my chest and live in the moment with her.
By the time I take the steps two at a time, my pulse is hammering so hard I feel it in my throat. I pause with my hand on the doorknob, trying and failing to curb my excitement at what I know is waiting for me on the other side.
When it feels like I have some semblance of control, I push the door open. The air gets lodged in my throat when I find Avery laid out on top of the comforter with an emerald silk nightgown on that brings out the green in her eyes.
Resting on her elbows, she nervously dips her chin before looking up at me from under her lashes. “Come to me, Gray.”
She doesn’t have to ask me twice . I rip my T-shirt over my head, throwing it on the floor. My eyes are locked on her, my body coming alive at the prospect of claiming her in my bed, in my house.
I rip my belt through the loops; the crack of it whipping the air barely penetrating the haze of arousal I’m in. My jeans are next, undone and shoved down my legs within a matter of seconds. I stumble, trying to get them off, but manage to stop my fall at the edge of the bed.
Avery giggles, like my burning need for her is amusing, and I imagine, if the tables were turned, I’d find it funny too. But right now, I’m barely holding onto my restraint. She sits up, holding her arms out to me as I climb onto the mattress.
I settle between her legs, my cock pressing into the soft warmth of her through the silk. She’s bathed in moonlight, a hint of darkness under her eyes. “I thought you were tired,” I whisper, like saying it any louder might stop this.
She brushes back a strand of hair that’s fallen over my brow in my rush. “I’m never too tired to have you, baby.”
At the use of the term of endearment, I rock into her and she moans, shifting her hips to find the perfect angle.
I cup her face, needing to see every perfect inch of her beauty.
We lay like this for a while, staring into each other’s eyes without a word spoken between us.
It’s intimate but still filled with the desire from moments ago.
I dip my head, and Avery lifts hers, meeting me in the middle as we kiss. So much is said in this kiss; it’s one of forgiveness, love, and promises. A promise that I’ll never stop loving her, even when she inevitably leaves again, because we both know it’s coming.
She follows my lead when I open my mouth. Our tongues tangle, a slow and sensual battle that neither of us has a hope of winning. I don’t know how long we stay like this, just kissing, but with my body covering hers as we lose ourselves in each other, I could die a happy man.
When her hand trails down my spine, it ignites something carnal inside of me.
The air between us shifts; the want from moments ago turns to need, and slowly, we rock into each other, until it becomes almost unbearable.
Avery whimpers, breaking the kiss as she arches her back.
The hard buds of her nipples graze my chest through her nightgown before I lean back and draw one of the nubs into my mouth through the silky material.
I groan, low and guttural, when she runs her fingers through my hair and tightens her hold on the strands. The overload of sensations—the pain and the pleasure—push me closer to ecstasy. I need to be inside her.
Now .
Sitting up on my heels, I take in the sight before me—Avery’s mussed hair, her chest rising and falling in a rhythm that matches my own. Her gaze drops to my cock, and she licks her swollen red lips.
Gripping the sides of her panties, I slowly pull them down until the damp material is free of her. Avery’s legs fall to either side of me, and I push them wider, exposing her dripping wet pussy.
I move further down the bed, lying on my side as I hook an arm around one thigh and run my tongue through her slit. She tastes sweet and addictive. The sounds tumbling from her mouth urge me on.
“Gray,” she cries when I slide a finger inside her. She thrashes on the bed, clutching the sheets as I suck on her clit and start up a steady pace with my finger. It doesn’t take long for her body to start spasming, her walls clamping around me as she tenses.
“That’s it, sunshine. Come for me, get this pussy ready to take my cock,” I breathe against her clit, and she shudders.
When Avery goes limp, I climb over her, making sure to keep my body from touching hers. A soft, dreamy, post-orgasm haze is covering her as she smiles up at me.
“I just need five minutes, and then I’ll return the favor.”
I chuckle and bend to kiss her shoulder. “This isn’t a tit for tat, Ave. I wanted to taste you, and so I did. You don’t owe me a thing.”
She rests her hands on my bare chest, smoothing her fingers through the hair. “I want to taste you too.”
I would love nothing more than that, but I fear if she takes me in her mouth, I’ll come too soon. Wrapping an arm around her waist, I roll us until she’s straddling me.
Holding onto her hips, I rock her back and forth on my already painfully hard cock. “Later?” I rasp, my mind not fully functioning.
Avery lifts herself off me enough to pull my boxer briefs down to free me. She strokes my cock, squeezing the head on each pass. I hiss out a breath, staring up at the ceiling as I try to count back from one hundred. I can’t come from a hand job. No way. Not right now.
“Ave,” I warn, her name a low rumble in my chest.
She lets out a contented sigh before shifting to hover above my dick. Somewhere in the fog of my arousal, I’m reminded of the need to use protection. We’ve been reckless twice already, but if we’re going to carry on, we should be smart about this.
“Condom,” I rasp, the word catching in my throat as her pussy envelops me inch by inch. I suck in a breath, fighting for mental clarity even as the pleasure blurs everything around me.
Avery freezes, swallowing thickly as she meets my gaze. “I’m on the pill and I’m clean.”
“Me too,” I reply, before catching myself and rushing. “I’m not on the pill.”
As if the movement is involuntary, Avery shifts, rolling her hips before she catches herself, but it’s too late. I felt it. It’s hard not to when I am surrounded by her. “I’m okay with not using condoms, if you are,” I groan, the sensation of her overloading me.
Hell, I haven’t been with anyone else in over nine years. The first three after she left, I’m ashamed to admit I tried to forget her, to lose myself in someone else. Anyone else . It didn’t work, and so I gave up trying, resigning myself to a life where all I could do was miss her.
Avery’s eyes flutter closed, and she rolls her hips again. “Yes,” she sighs. “Yes, I’m okay with it too. I’ve been single for a really long time.”
Elation floods my body at her admission.
I sit up and press my feet together as I band an arm around her waist and kiss across her chest. With an arm behind me for support, I move Avery up and down my cock as I thrust my hips.
Her slick heat covers me, and I can’t bring myself to care about anything but the way she feels.
Pulling her tighter against me, Avery’s cries become muffled against my shoulder, her body trembling around me. I can’t take it anymore .
I flip her onto her back, throwing one of her legs over my arm as I slam into her, seeking out my release as she teeters over the precipice of her own. Her nails dig into my biceps as her walls spasm around my cock, milking me for everything I’ve got.
A familiar and welcome tension starts at the base of my spine, my hip movements getting more and more out of control. Black spots appear in my vision as I come, spilling my seed into Avery.
As soon as the last drop leaves me, I sink onto the bed, aiming for the mattress but still half covering her. My heartbeat thunders in my ears as the quiet night settles around us. Next time we’ll go slow, but there’s something about her that always has me losing control.
Avery smooths a hand up my back, over my shoulder and into my hair, and for a moment, I wish it could be like this for the rest of our lives. Just her and me, building something out of all the broken pieces we’ve carried these past twelve years, one quiet night at a time.